Greetings from California: Day 1

I was awoken this morning by one of my best friends' father. It was about 5:30 a.m., just three hours after I had gone to sleep. I arose from my comfortable bed, and took a nice long shower to wake myself up. I went back to the room I stayed in, and put on my suit. I wore a suit because I wanted to get upgraded to first class (didn't happen).

I left for the airport at about ten minutes until 6:00 a.m. (CDT), and arrived at IAH at about 6:45 a.m. (CDT). I got on a plane at 8:00, took off at 8:30, and arrived in Phoenix at 11:00/9:00 (CDT/MST). I was freaking out on the plane, as I didn't realize that Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time as opposed to Mountain Daylight Time. I was in the air at 37,000 ft. thinking "my next flight is supposed to take off in 20 minutes."

After I arrived in Phoenix, I had a little bit of time to get something to eat and arrive at my next gate. I boarded the plane at 9:30 local, and took off around 10:00 local. The flight was pretty cool. I sat next to a girl whom I talked to for the majority of the flight. We looked through the "Sky Mall" magazine at all of the ridiculous stuff they have for sale.

I arrived in Sacramento on time at 11:45 pacific daylight. Robert met me in baggage claim, and we then proceeded back to Modesto (which is like an hour and a half away by the way). To get to his house we drove up through the back of the city. Robert was quick to tell me that the whole city wasn't just made up of one big orchard, but that there is a mall, pool halls, a best buy, a target, and other various entertainment.

I got to meet Robert's family today. That included his brother, Nick; his sister, Autumn; his sister-in-law, Andrea; his father and his mother.

We went to "In-N-Out Burger." If you know Robert (or anyone from California for that matter) you've heard about this restaurant. Well, let me just say that it is everything they say it is. It's easily the best fast food I've ever had. If you ever find yourself at one of these restaurants I must say that you need to order a "3x3 animal style with animal style fries and a lemon-up." Apparently the restaurant has a whole secret menu. That's pretty cool. I bought a t-shirt. I think I'm going to try to buy a t-shirt at like every significant place I visit.

We also explored the local mall in Modesto. I must say it's nothing like the galleria or Katy Mills, but it was nice nonetheless. I'm looking forward to what should be a pretty awesome week here in Cali. Incidentally, when I was on the plane coming to Sacramento from Phoenix the flight attendant said "the weather forecast for Sacramento is clear, 71 degrees." I couldn't help but think "Glory to God. I'm leaving what has to be the most humid city in the world that is about to get hit by a hurricane, and I'm going into absolutely perfect weather."

We've got some plans for tomorrow, and we'll be going to San Francisco on Wednesday. We'll go to Chinatown and a Giants game! I hope to see Barry hit a homer, and since he hits one every two days or so it'll be a good possibility.

Pictures soon to come on facebook.


Cheers, friends!
-Michael